A Uninvited
by everybodybreaksaglass
Summary: Aria is finally forced to tell the truth about A to Ezra, bringing new conflicts into their already complicated relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Ezra sat in his small apartment staring at the clock. 8:10. Aria should have been there ten minutes ago. _She probably just got caught up with her parents and forgot to call me and tell me she was running late_, he tried to tell himself, _she's fine_. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. After another four minutes, which felt like four hours to Ezra, he decided to risk that Aria might be in the company of her parents and call her. As he was reaching for his cell phone, it buzzed. _Finally_, he thought as he opened up the message, _news from Aria_.

_Poor little Aria never made it past the Apple Rose Grill. Where's Prince Charming now?_

_ -A_

"No," Cried Ezra to an empty apartment, "Aria!" He ran outside, slamming the door behind him as he went. He shoved his phone in his back pocket as he continued running into the parking lot of his apartment complex, andt threw his car door open.

Ezra sped through the streets of Rosewood, Pennsylvania in a panic. He pulled his silver Camry into one of the many empty parking spaces outside the Apple Rose Grill, not bothering to pay the meter.

"Aria?" He called out, frantically. "Aria!" He yelled again louder, after no response. He did a 360 on the street corner, and turned back to face the alley. "Please be in there," mumbled Ezra to himself, while walking towards the dark alley, "And please be alive." He added.

Ezra cautiously stepped across the cracked pavement of the alley.

"Aria are you there?" He called out timidly. A muffled scream came from behind a dumpster. "Aria!" Ezra yelled, he ran towards the noise. He turned the corner, and there was his girlfriend, curled up behind the dumpster. Aria's hands were duct taped to the brick wall behind her, her legs tied together, and a silver piece of tape was over her mouth. "I'm sorry," Ezra whispered, before ripping the tape off.

"Ezra," Aria gasped, "Oh thank god!" She started crying mascara running down her already tear stained face. Ezra gently tore her hands from the wall, and let her remove the tape as he fumbled with the rope around her ankles.

"Damnit," Ezra mumbled, "Hold on Aria, I'll get you out of here." Ezra got out his car key and sawed through the rope, and pulled her off the ground.

Tears still ran down Aria's face; Ezra cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. Her tiny body shook, and he wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Shh, honey. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Ezra cooed, holding her tight as she cried. Once Aria's shaking had ceased a bit, Ezra broke the silence, "Come on, let's go home."

Ezra drove with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand holding Aria's.

"Who did this to you?" He asked,

"I don't know Ezra. They were wearing a black hoodie and I couldn't see their face. I got knocked out, and I only woke up a few minutes before you found me." Aria spoke the half-truth.

"We'll find whoever it is, I promise." Ezra gave her icy hand a reassuring squeeze, and Aria tried to fake a smile that came out as more of a grimace, because she knew that they never would catch the man that would haunt her dreams tonight.

Neither of them talked as they finished the drive home, or as Ezra made Aria's favorite tea while she sat on his couch in his apartment.

"We have to go to the police." Ezra declared, as he handed Aria a mug and sat down next to her.

"Ezra. We can't go to the police without telling them the truth about us. I'm not willing to lose you for anything, and I know that no one would let me see you again if they knew I was dating my English Teacher." Aria sighed, "How did you find me?" Ezra dug through his pocket and handed her his phone.

"An anonymous person sent me a text. You're lucky; I think they may have saved your life." Ezra spoke without a clue of what he was saying. Aria's face went pale as she read the signature on the text message that lit up Ezra's screen.

"Ezra, there's something I need to tell you."


	2. Chapter 2

Aria took a deep breath as she tried to figure out how to tell Ezra her darkest secret. She didn't keep secrets from him. After all, he was a secret.

"Ezra, do you remember who Alison Dilaurentis was?" He put a hand over her clenched fists in her lap.

"She died before I moved here, but how could anyone forget such a horrible tragedy?" Ezra's question was rhetorical; all of Rosewood was haunted by the unsolved murder of Alison Dilaurentis.

"Well, she was. . .um. . . she was our friend." Aria said slowly. Ezra nodded even more slowly.

"Our as in. . ?" He asked. Ezra knew Aria had been associated with Alison, with them being in the same grade and all, but he had never more than skimmed newspaper articles about the murder before he already felt as if he knew too much.

"Me, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily," Aria's voice wavered, "She wasn't really a friend though, more of a dictator. Alison was a very cruel, manipulative person." Ezra stiffened, he thought it wrong to speak ill of the dead. "But that's beside the point." Aria added, when she saw his discomfort." Aria took a big sip of her tea before continuing to speak.

"Last Halloween, we went to a party. Alison went for a walk, and got locked in an abandoned house. She called us, and we found her. Thankfully we managed to escape, but we never found out who the person was." Aria tensed, she was vary of telling Ezra too much and endangering him, "Ali was being stalked, by a person who went by the name of A."

"Did you tell the police?" Ezra inquired earnestly.

"Ezra, we didn't know this was going on until after she was murdered. We had to put the pieces together by ourselves." Aria told him, "But that's not all. After Ali's disappearance, none of us really spoke anymore. She had kind of been the glue that held us together. A year later, we sat by each other at Ali's funeral, and that's when A started going after us. We started receiving anonymous text messages, and they, we think it's more than one person, won't leave us alone." Aria was trembling with fear, thinking back on all the things A had done to her and her best friends.

"What's the worst thing that A has done to you?" Ezra asked, dying to know but afraid to hear the answer.

"They hit Hanna with a car." Ezra gasped.

"Aria you have to go to the police!" Aria just shook her head.

"A knows everything about me," Ezra opened his mouth to protest, and Aria cut him off. "_Everything._" Ezra untangled their hands and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, pulling her closer to him.

"Aria, I can't risk losing you." He murmured in her ear,

"Ezra, if I tell the police, the truth will come out about us and we will lose each other." Aria leaned into him and turned her face towards his. "I love you, and I know you want me to be safe, but the definition of 'safe' has kind of changed since A became my own worst enemy." Ezra took her face in the palm of his hand and kissed her gently.

"I love you so much."

"Can I stay here tonight?" Aria asked, "I kind of want to be with you right now."

"Of course you can." Ezra replied. Aria pulled away to take her phone out of her pocket and dial her best friend's number.

"Hey, Hanna, can you do me a favor?" Aria said when Hannah picked up on the other line. Hannah fake groaned.

"What do you need?"

"I'm staying at Ezra's tonight, will you cover for me?"

"Ooh, sleepover with Mr. Fitz, someone is a teacher's pet." Hanna teased, "Use protection!"

"Han," Aria warned. Ezra snickered into her shoulder, hearing Hanna's comment over the phone. "Love you, bye." Aria hung up and rolled her eyes at her friend's immaturity. She opened her phone and sent a text to her mom.

I'm going to stay at Han's tonight. Her mom's on a date and she doesn't want to be_ home alone. Hope that's okay, xoxo._

Aria slid her phone shut and wrapped her arms around Ezra's neck,

"Well, it looks like I'm yours for the night." She said playfully, trying to lighten his mood. He kissed her quickly,

"Well then it looks like tonight I'm the luckiest man alive."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Aria woke up and let out a disgruntled groan. A momentary memory lapse had caused her to forget last night's events. She removed herself from the arms of a still-sleeping Ezra and walked over to his dresser to find a shirt. Aria chose his flannel, a personal favorite of hers, because it was quite large on her and always smelled like his apartment, or, more specifically, his bed. She went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee, and decided to wake Ezra when she came back and found him still sleeping.

"Mmm, good morning beautiful," Ezra murmured when Aria straddled him and leaned down to kiss him, "Sleep well?" He asked, still only half awake.

"Much better with you by my side." Aria said, and kissed him again after finishing her sentence. Ezra broke away from her,

"Is that coffee I smell?" He asked as Aria got off of him and he began to get out of bed. "Feel free to stay over every night." Aria laughed at the joke, she knew if it was up to them they would spend every night together.

Ezra was leaning against the counter in his kitchen watching Aria hum as she made pancakes when they heard a knock on the door. Ezra motioned for Aria to get away from the door's line of sight as he walked over to get it. Aria barely had enough time to dive behind the counter as she heard her mother's voice.

"Ella, um, hi." Ezra mumbled inadvertently, a million things running through his head.

"I'm sorry Ezra, I should have called first." Ezra let out a subtle sigh once he knew they hadn't been caught, and glanced over at his kitchen area to make sure Aria wasn't visible. "I forget that not everyone is as early of a riser that I am." _Well not everyone was up doing the late night activities that I was last night, either._ Ezra thought, as he still stood in his pajama pants close to eleven o'clock.

"Well uh, what brings you over here?" Ezra asked, mentally trying to think as to how his girlfriend slash student's mother could have possibly gotten his apartment number, or why she would want it.

"The Principal suggested we start a writing club to help get students more interested in the English Department. It wasn't really as much of a suggestion as an order, so he gave me your information so we could plan the course sometime. I figured he would have told you already so I just came on over." Ezra vaguely remembered discussing this in the teacher's lounge with Principal Tamborelli, now that Mrs. Montgomery mentioned it. "Anyways, what are you making? It smells delicious."

"Pancakes." Ezra flatly stated. "I'd invite you in but it's not really a good time. . ."

"That's perfectly understandable, with me showing up unannounced. Maybe you could come over for brunch at my house sometime, to discuss plans. My daughter, Aria, she's in your class, makes wonderful pancakes." _I know,_ Ezra thought. "Well, I'll just be going now. Have a nice afternoon Ezra."

"You too." Ezra said awkwardly, as he shut the door behind her, making sure to lock it.

Ezra walked back into his kitchen, and held a hand down to Aria who was crouched behind his countertop.

"That was way too close." He whispered, still scared that Ella might be hovering outside his door for one reason or another.

"We have _got_ to be more _careful._" Aria said firmly.

"Well we weren't exactly making out in front of your parents or anything." Ezra mumbled, obviously still shaken by what had just happened.

"Hey mom." Aria said nonchalantly when she got home and saw her mother eating a Panini in the kitchen while reading her latest poetry interest.

"Hi sweetie, how was Hanna's?" Ella asked without looking up from her book.

"The usual, just a girls night with lots of movies and popcorn and gossip." Aria tried not to sound too unhappy nor to enthusiastic, as to not discern her mother.

"Oh, speaking of gossip I went over to Ezra Fitz's apartment this morning," Aria slammed the orange juice carton she had just gotten out of the fridge down on the countertop a little too hard. "And I don't think he's single."

"Why would you think that?" Aria asked, her voice steady but her hand shaking as she poured her juice into a glass.

"Well it was nearly eleven in the morning and he still wasn't dressed, plus he acted like he was hiding something, and there's only one reason I can think of for that."

"He's attractive, I would be more surprised if he was single." Aria said, seeing no harm in saying what every girl at her school thought.

"I know, I just thought you might be interested in some juicy gossip involving your English teacher. Did you get any breakfast at Hanna's? I can make you something if you want." Ella asked, changing the topic after seeing Aria clearly didn't want to talk about it.

"No thanks mom, I had pancakes."

**Hey guys! I'm sorry for not updating in a while. I have exams coming up so I'm really busy studying. Thank you so much to everyone who reads this. If you read this I would really appreciate a review, positive or negative, so I know how I'm doing. I'll try to at least post 1 or 2 chapters a week. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The girls were all sitting in Spencer's bedroom gaping at Aria, dumbfounded at what she had just told them.

"Why didn't you tell me that's why you were staying at Ezra's last night?" Hanna practically yelled. Aria threw her a shushing glare, even though she knew there was no one home who could possibly hear them.

"Wait, Aria, you stayed at Ezra's place?" Spencer inquired, "That's a terrible idea, what if you had gotten caught?"

"I almost did." Aria mumbled sheepishly. Hanna and Spencer both looked as if they were about to explode when Emily broke in,

"Look, guys," She said, always the peacemaker, "I'm sure Aria had her reasons. That's not really important right now thought, what's important right now is that A is more dangerous than ever."

"Um, hello?" Hanna still being Hanna, "Are we just going to forget that A hit me with a _car_?"

"You're right," Emily nodded, "Whenever A feels like we know too much, they go after us." _Or whenever they feel like we are too vulnerable,_ she thought, remembering A's hands around her neck all too clearly.

"But I didn't know anything! Other than the fact that A clearly wants us dead, they had no reason to knock me out and leave me in an alley. . ." Aria trailed off, "Unless. . ."

"What?" All three girls leaned in to ask.

"Unless A wanted Ezra to find out."

There was a silence that rushed over the girls, as it all began to made sense yet a million questions were left unanswered.

"Aria we have to talk to him." Spencer was the first to break the silence, "Call him up and tell him to come over here."

"No that's too dangerous, your parents might come home." Aria protested, she knew it was highly unlikely that Spencer's parents ever would actually be in the vicinity of their own home but she couldn't risk it.

"Okay so? We go over there." Hanna said, gesturing towards the door as she spoke. Aria's thoughts went back to her mom showing up unannounced at Ezra's apartment, then she remembered that her mom was in Philly for the day.

"Alright, let's go."

Ezra opened the door and was shocked to see his girlfriend and three of his English Students standing outside his apartment.

"Aria. . . Hanna, Spencer, Emily. . . what are you guys doing here?" Ezra asked, still slightly confused even though he felt as if he already knew.

"Can we come in?" Aria asked, "We need to talk to you."

"But what if your mom. . ." The three other girls exchanged unknowing glances with each other.  
"She's in Philadelphia, Ezra. This is important." Ezra stepped back and held the door open for the three teenage girls. They all gave him uncomfortable glances as they walked past, even Aria.

"This is about A." Aria said, which by that point Ezra had figured out.

"We don't think A wanted to hurt Aria," Spencer began, she took a breath and Ezra cut her off,

"This person is obviously out to hurt you." Ezra tried to stay calm but the thought of losing Aria still terrified him.

"That's the big picture. I think A wanted you to know about them." Spencer said.

"Them?" Ezra raised an eyebrow.

"We think it's more than one person." Aria said quickly.

"But think about it," Emily focused them back to why they were there, "Before, A could only meddle with you from Aria's side of your relationship. The A-team has a goal, and I think that goal is to break you guys up."

"Well do you have any idea who is behind all of this?"  
"Well Alison had a lot of enemies." Aria spoke the truth, while Alison was popular, she hadn't been nice. She was manipulative and cruel, and not everyone wanted to play her games.

"Mona." Spencer practically spat out. Hanna shot her a glare.

"Guys, come on, Mona is one of my best friends. And she's tiny. Do you really think she could attack Aria? We all only know one person that hates us enough to do these terrible things to us."

"Jenna." They said in unison.

"But Jenna couldn't hit Hanna with a car." Spencer knew that if Jenna was A, it was very likely that Toby was part of the A-Team.

"Well it wasn't exactly what I would call safe driving." Hannah said sarcastically.

"Han," Aria said.

"We'll figure it out, I promise." Ezra said, a lie he didn't know he was telling. The four girls shook their head.

"We just came to warn you." Spencer said, "We don't want to drag you into this mess."  
"You're going to get text messages." Hanna said,

"Well that's not that b-" Ezra was cut off by Emily,

"And they might sneak into your apartment." She remembered the tests which tested positive for anabolic steroids, courtesy of A.

"And they will mess with your relationship." Spencer and Toby had just recently gotten back together, after she felt A was tearing them apart. Then she had realized that was exactly A's intent.

"Thank you guys, but I think I'll be able to handle myself." Ezra didn't really understand, he didn't think this stalker was after him.

"Guys, I think we should go, I have to pick up Mike from practice at five. Wait for me outside?" Aria motioned towards the door. Emily, Hanna, and Spencer awkwardly waved goodbye to Ezra and walked out. Aria turned towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Ezra, be careful. I never wanted you to get involved in this." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, and broke their embrace to walk over to the door.

"Aria?" Ezra called after her.

"Mhmm?" She replied.

"I love you."

"I love you too Ezra."

The girls all climbed into Spencer's car, Aria riding shotgun and Hanna and Emily sitting in the backseat. Spencer looked down to buckle her seatbelt and looked back up to see an unfriendly figure tapping at the window.

"Shit." She whispered, and rolled down the window.

"Hello girls, long time, no talk." Detective Wilden said with his knowing smirk, "What brings you to this side of Rosewood?" The four girls exchanged panicked glances, and Aria replied calmly,

"My mom is doing a joint club with our English Teacher, Ezra Fitz. She left to go to Philly this morning and forgot to drop some papers off, so she called me to do it for her. We were all over at my house when I got the call." Wilden just nodded.

"Well you girls have a pleasant evening." Detective Wilden nodded towards them.

"Goodbye." Spencer said coldly. She rolled up her window as Detective Wilden walked back to his car. "That guy is a total creep." She said, as she turned out of the parking lot.

"Tell me about it." Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Easy Spence," Aria said, as she glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Detective Wilden leaning against his car watching them drive further and further away from the apartment complex.

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews and follows! If you were planning on leaving a review I have some questions to ask.**

**1) Should I keep this mainly Aria and Ezra or do you want me to write about the other character's relationships as well?**

**2) If you could change one thing about how I write, what would it be?**

**3) What is your favorite event/plot twist that has happened so far?**

**You don't have to answer these questions I'd just really appreciate if you did. Thanks for reading/favoriting/following**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Hanna was the first to break the silence on the drive back to Spencer's house.

"Well at least Ezra can protect you from A."

"Hanna!" Spencer yelled, hitting the brakes roughly as they came up on a stop sign, "Not the point, at all."

"I'm more worried about protecting Ezra from A," Aria admitted, "He has no idea what A is capable of."

"Aria, it's going to be all right.," Emily said, putting her hand on the back of Aria's seat, "We're all in this together."

"Is anyone else starving?" Spencer broke in, trying to change the topic, "I heard there's a new frozen yogurt place at the mall, and I've been dying to try it." The girls all unanimously agreed with Spencer, and stopped at the mall to get a snack before going home.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Hanna said, the second they all walked into the small frozen yogurt store.

"_Hanna._" Spencer scolded, her voice on edge. The girls all turned in the direction Hanna was looking.

"_Jenna._" Aria groaned.

"That's just what we need, another encounter with a total _creep_ today." Hanna half whispered. As if on cue, Jenna began tapping her cane across the room.

"Hanna? Spencer? Aria? Is that you?" Jenna inquired, in a fake, friendly tone.

"Em's here too." Spencer's voice wavered.

"Oh good, I just love when it's the four of you." Jenna piped up, in a voice that said she enjoyed everything but talking to the four girls. "So where are you girls coming from? I've been here for a while, so I surely would have run into you by now."

"That's none of your business." Aria said, defensively.

"Well you must have been somewhere you shouldn't be, if you're mum about it." Jenna spoke as if she already knew what the girls had been doing.

Spencer was about to snap back at Jenna when Toby walked over from the counter and handed Jenna a bowl of yogurt with berries on top. Spencer tried to hide the smile that was forming across her face.

"Hi Toby," She spoke shyly, as if she was a schoolgirl speaking to the cute boy in the grade above her, not as if she was speaking with the person she had been in a relationship with for months. Toby nodded at her,

"Spencer," he said nonchalantly.

"Toby, we should really get going." The girls knew that Jenna really just didn't want to be around them any longer.

"You can go wait outside the store Jenna, I'll be right there." Toby spoke with his eyes still on Spencer. Jenna exited, tapping her cane as she went along.

"Since when are you on Jenna duty?" Spencer practically spat Jenna's name out.

"Since our parents our out of town for the weekend and Jenna has no one on this planet that wants to spend time with her." Toby mumbled, he hated Jenna as much as Spencer did.

"Can you still come over tonight?" Spencer asked, "I was looking forward to spending some time with you."

"I'll see what I can do." Toby sighed, and leaned in to kiss Spencer quickly and then began walking out. Just as he reached the door, he turned to give Spencer an apologetic glance before exiting.

"How can someone so evil be related to someone so good?" No one answered Spencer, it was a rhetorical question.

"Let's just get our food and get out of here." Aria said, staring blankly into space, "I have to pick up Mike soon."

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated this in forever. Thank you so much for being patient. I'll try to post a new chapter every week. If you would take the time to leave a review I would be so grateful.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Aria was sitting on her bed Monday night trying to get some reading done that she had for class the next day. She and Ezra had a no special treatment rule, so she had to try just as hard as everyone else in the class, if not harder. Her phone buzzed, causing Aria to nearly jump off her bed.

_Can you come over now? It's urgent. _

_ -Ez_

Aria thanked a higher power that her parents were out at the moment. Byron was at a teacher conference in one of the Carolina's, and her mother was out with some girls having a few drinks. Ezra never asked her to drop everything and come see him, unless it was urgent.

"Hey Mike?" Aria tapped gently on her younger brother's door with one hand, while her other hand slipped a flat onto her right foot.

"Come in." Mike called back at her. Aria cracked open the door and stuck her head inside his room.

"I'm going to go out for a bit, do you need me to get you anything while I'm in town?" Aria didn't think Mike needed a cover story or even cared where she was going, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Mike shook his head in response.

"Nah, I'm good. Have fun wherever you're going." Mike lifted his hand in a lazy sort of wave, and Aria took that as a cue to shut the door behind her.

Aria looked at Ezra the second he opened his apartment door and knew that something was very wrong.

"What is it?" Aria asked, not even bothering to kiss him at the moment. She was too concerned to worry about satisfying their wants.

"Come here." Ezra took Aria's hand and led her over to his desk. Aria jerked her hand away in attempt to stifle the gasp that had escaped her mouth at the sight before them. Tons of papers were scattered over Ezra's desk, and all of them had a bright red "A" with a circle around it.

"Are those. . ."

"The _To Kill a Mockingbird_ Essays." Ezra finished Aria's sentence for her.

"What are you going to tell the class?" Aria turned towards Ezra.

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'll just make up something about deciding to make the essay for bonus points and tell them I wanted to keep the essay's for reference purposes. But Aria, this person got into my _house_." Aria sighed as Ezra spoke, as if A hadn't messed with enough they had to get involved in her relationship.

"Ezra, A can get into almost anywhere. Nothing is safe, not anymore."

"How can you just act like this isn't a problem? Oh, no big deal, just some murderous psychopath free to roam wherever they please, it's okay." Ezra began to raise his voice at Aria.

"I'm not saying it's not a problem Ezra," Aria's tone of voice became defensive, "My life has revolved around this stalker for months now. Do you think I like having my house broken into? My relationship being threatened? Being forced to choose between my family and my safety?"

"A has threatened our relationship?" Aria nodded in response to Ezra's question, "Aria. . . why didn't you tell me?" Ezra's tone of voice became softer, it almost sounded like he had been betrayed.

Tears welled up in Aria's eyes. All she had ever wanted was a happy relationship with the person she loved. Things seemed to have gotten way out of hand, and she felt as if it was all her fault.

"I just. . ." Aria's voice wavered as she spoke, "I wanted to protect you. I love you Ezra."

Ezra cupped Aria's face in his hands, and wiped away the tears falling gently from her beautiful eyes. Any trace of anger that he had felt towards Aria seconds ago had faded completely, and in its place was tenderness for the woman he knew he loved more than life itself.

"Aria," Ezra's voice was firm but comforting as he spoke, "We are going to get through this, and we are going to get through this together."

Aria stood on her tip toes and kissed Ezra. Their lips intertwined for a few blissful moments, until Ezra pulled away.

"Aria, I have something to give you," Aria's head tilted with curiosity as Ezra spoke, "I was going to give it to you on our anniversary, but I think now is the right time."

Ezra retreated to where his bed was, and he pulled out a small box that was in the table beside it. He walked back over to Aria, and opened the box. She gasped as she saw it's contents. Inside the box were two rings, each with a silver band that was carved into an intricate pattern. One of the rings had a piece of opal set into it.

"They're promise rings, Aria," Ezra spoke, his voice shaking with nerves, "One for me, one for you. I'm going to marry you one day. We will always be together, forever. I love you."

Ezra slipped the ring with a unique opal stone in it onto Aria's ring finger. Aria kissed him again and again. Each time their lips parted, they reunited again with more passion. Ezra scooped Aria up like she was his bride, and carried him over to his bed. Just for that night, they forgot all their problems and the tough road that was ahead of them and were able to just be with each other.

**A/N: I hope you guys are still interested in the story! Please leave feedback, negative or positive, I like to know how I'm doing. Thanks much! I'll post more next Tuesday.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Aria woke up in a cold sweat, screaming as Ezra shook her.

"Aria! What's wrong?" Ezra exclaimed when he noticed she was awake.

"I was having a nightmare," Aria panted, unable to catch her breath.

"What was it?" Ezra inquired, concern spread about his face.

"I was in the alley, that night," Aria choked out, her voice barely comprehendible through all the sobbing, "I had gotten a text from you, you said you needed to meet me somewhere where we could talk in private, and you wanted me to meet you there. I checked my phone to see where you were and I looked up and there was someone in a hooded figure. And I saw the face in my dream, Ezra, it was—it was you." Aria cried out.

A darkened look overcame Ezra's eyes, one which Aria could not quite understand. His eyes was on Aria, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Aria, it was just a dream." He spoke, as if he were in a trance.

"It just seemed so real," Aria's voice was steadier, but she was trembling in Ezra's arms.

"You're okay." Ezra tried to sooth Aria, to no avail.

"I want to go home, Ezra." She demanded.

Aria broke away from Ezra's arms. He jerked awkwardly, seeming confused at her sudden anger towards him.

"Aria, it's three in the morning." Ezra tried to reason with her.

"I know, I can't be here anymore." Aria began to panic.

Ezra got up and tried to reach out and hold Aria, but she backed away from him.

"I need to be home right now!" Aria screamed, "I don't feel safe here, A was in here Ezra!"

"You're going to wake the neighbors, Aria. Don't get upset. It was just a dream, I love you, you know that."

Aria began to sob, and collapsed into Ezra's chest. Intertwining his fingers in her silky hair, Ezra rocked Aria back and forth. Though each convulsion of her shaking body became less violent, Ezra did not break his hold on Aria until he was sure no tears were streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry Ezra," Aria whispered.

"Don't be, I know you're scared and confused. This is difficult for all of you, I know that, but I'm here every step of the way." Ezra held up his hand to Aria, reminding her of the promise rings they had exchanged only hours earlier.

Ezra reached for Aria's hand, and gently pulled her back towards the bed.

"Why don't we get some sleep?" He suggested. The offer was not necessary; Aria was already curling up on his mattress, exhaustion taking over her. Ezra climbed into bed with her, and wrapped his body around hers. His lips met the nape of Aria's neck, "I love you, goodnight." He whispered. Aria's eyelashes fluttered, and she murmured something that wasn't understandable. Sleep greeted them as a welcome friend, and the two rested without any more interruption.

Ezra awoke to find that Aria was no longer in his arms. In a tired daze, he stumbled around his apartment to find her sitting at his desk, leaning over something that he couldn't see. He peered over her shoulder to get a closer look,  
"I thought I threw those away." Ezra stated, looking at the ruined essays that Aria was looking at.

"I brought them back out," Aria said coolly, "Ezra, why do you have the exact same pen that A wrote on these papers with?" She asked, holding out a red fountain pen.

"They probably just took a pen from on top of my desk." Ezra shrugged.

"A wouldn't do that," Aria's voice was an eerie sort of calm, "They are way too organized to use someone else's pen."

Ezra exhaled sharply,

"I don't get what you're accusing me of," He stepped closer to Aria as he spoke, "If you don't trust me, maybe you should go."

"Ezra I'm not saying I don't trust you I'm just confused!" Aria yelled, "Nothing is making sense anymore."

"It makes sense," Ezra reasoned, "You don't know who A is so you're pointing fingers to the ones closest to you. Once you know enough about someone, anything in their life can look suspicious."

"I never would have questioned this if it wasn't for the dream Ezra."

"It was just a dream. Why don't you go home and sort things out and come back when you're ready to discuss this in a civilized manner?" Ezra spoke cooly.

All that could be heard was the sound of their harsh breathing. Aria stormed out and slammed the door behind her. But she didn't leave, Aria stood with her ear pressed up against the door. It took everything she had not to scream as she heard Ezra dial the phone and the words he spoke next,

"Aria's on to us."

**A/N: I know I'm a terrible person for not posting yesterday. Honestly, my only excuse is that I'm having terrible writers block for this story. I finally came up with an end (Only about 1 or 2 chapters left on this one, sorry) But if you want a longer, juicer plot and you love Ezra I'm writing another one that's much more thought out and I can already tell we be at least three times the length of this one. So sorry, I hope you're not mad at me for taking such a big plot twist. The next chapter will be much longer, I promise!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The usual four were sitting in Spencer's bedroom, the safest place to meet without being overheard.

"Okay Aria, it's seven in the morning this had better be good." Hannah moaned,

"Hannah!" Spencer snapped, "Aria, what's wrong?"

"Ezra's A," Aria whispered.

"What?" The other three exclaimed in unison.

Aria nodded, "I had a few suspicions after a dream I had last night, but I listened in on a phone call of his and overheard him." Spencer reached over to give Aria a hug, "Thanks, but guys, I'm worried. If Ezra's part of the A team, that means the other's we're closest to may be on it also."

"Caleb _isn't_ A." Hannah butted in, "He didn't even live here for the first half of the time this was going on."  
"You guys are the ones closest to me," Emily admitted, still not over Maya.

"And A caused Toby to almost die! I know we've had our suspicions about Jenna but that's some serious acting." Spencer was practically yelling at Aria as she defended Toby.

"Guys," Aria broke in, "Ezra has done things to himself also. A has threatened our relationship many times; I guess he was just doing this to avoid suspicion."

"Do you know why Ezra was doing this to you?" Emily asked sympathetically. Aria shook her head at Emily, tears welling up in her eyes.

All eyes turned to Spencer as she spoke, "I might have an idea. It's a stretch, but it's all we have."

Aria wiped the tears off her cheeks and sniffed, "What is it?"  
"Well, we know Alison was seeing an older man," Spencer explained cautiously, "And we always assumed it was Ian. But what if it wasn't Ian? What if the man was Ezra?"

"That's not possible," Aria whispered.

"But it is, think about it, Aria. The summer Alison disappeared was probably the time Ezra was going into his junior or senior year in college. It's entirely possible Ali had met him somehow and was keeping him a secret from us."

"But that doesn't explain why Ezra's A, Spencer." Hanna whined.

"I think it makes sense," Emily said shyly.

"A number of things could have happened," Spencer continued, "Ali could have been threatening Ezra and he wanted to do away with her, same as we suspected with Ian. It could be more complicated than that, though. I don't think we are ever going to truly find out."

"We have to talk to him," Aria admitted. As much as the thought of seeing Ezra right now pained her, she needed answers.

"I'll come with you," Hanna said quickly. The other girls nodded with agreement.

"It'll be okay Aria," Emily said with a hug.

Aria pulled the hidden key out from Ezra's doormat, and slid it into the lock. Her eyes scanned the room as she entered, and it quickly became apparent that there was no Ezra inside.

"Where is he?" Hanna demanded to know.

"Run off, probably." Spencer spat, "He couldn't live with himself knowing what he had done."

"Do you think we could get a look around, while we're here?" Aria suggested.

Emily hesitated, "I'm not sure that's a good idea." She said.

"Maybe we can find something that would be helpful." Spencer pressed, wanting to get to the bottom of the A drama more than any of them.

Emily agreed, and the four of them went searching through the abandoned apartment, looking for anything that might help them solve this mystery. But nothing could be found. Aria was looking through Ezra's desk drawers when she realized his laptop was sitting open on top of the desk. Hesitating, Aria jiggled the mouse pad. It was already logged in to Ezra's account. Almost as if Ezra wanted her to see what was on it.

First, Aria went to his documents. Most of them looked normal, with folders labeled "English Quarter 1", "Quarter 2", "Quarter 3", and things like "Essays from college". Then Aria hovered over the pictures. Was this too far? She wasn't sure if she wanted to know why Ezra would want to hurt her. Curiosity got the best of her, and Aria double clicked on the pictures tab. Again, most of the things were normal, "College pics", "Europe Vacation," etc. But then Aria noticed a folder labeled "Summer 2009". The summer that Alison disappeared.

Ezra had hundreds, maybe even thousands of photos in the folder. Some of them were seemingly normal, pictures taken in Rosewood for what seemed to be photography purposes. But then the pictures became more focused, and Aria realized what Ezra was really taking pictures of. He didn't want pictures of the Apple Rose Grill, or the swing set outside the elementary school. If Aria squinted, she could see herself and her friends through the grill window. Ezra was stalking them.

Finally, Aria found the picture that confirmed everything. Ezra and Alison, and both were sitting inside his apartment. Even after everything that had happened, Aria still felt a pang of jealousy that Ezra liked, maybe even loved Alison at some point in time. There were more pictures of Ezra and Alison together, but Aria as Aria clicked through the pictures, she realized that something was wrong. One of the pictures showed Ezra and Alison sitting on his couch, and Ezra was resting his hand on Alison's knee. Except resting was the wrong word. It looked like Ezra was forcing Alison to hold still. In another photo, Ezra had his arm around Alison, but his fingers were digging into the skin on her shoulder that her tank top didn't cover. The next photo showed red marks on Ali's shoulder. The last picture showed Ezra kissing Alison. But Ali's eyes were open, and it looked like Ezra was holding her face in place.

"Guys, come here!" Aria called to her friends, who were looking through Ezra's kitchen and closet.

Spencer, Emily, and Hanna rushed over to where Aria was sitting, and craned to see the computer screen. But they were interrupted by an opening door.

"Well well well," Ezra said sarcastically, "Congrats, you figured it all out."

Aria gasped, and turned around to see Ezra standing in the doorway, a menacing grin on his face. But that wasn't the worst thing. Standing next to Ezra was a girl with blonde hair, full lips, and entrancing blue-green eyes.

Alison was alive, and she was standing next to Ezra.

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry for not posting last week. I was super sick (102 degree fever) and didn't have time to write a chapter. But since I always post on Tuesdays, I just decided to wait a week and give you a really good chapter instead of a crappy one that was written while I was sick. Only one or two chapters left in this! What do you think so far?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Emily was the first to break the silence.

"A-Alison?" She stammered, unable to believe what was before her eyes.

"So it's true," Aria murmured, noticing how close Ezra and Alison stood.

"You silly girls, did you really think I was dead?" Alison laughed, "Of course not."

"Then where were you?" Hanna asked, eyeing Alison cautiously.

"Alison and I started seeing each other the winter before she disappeared," Ezra started, "But our relationship wasn't ideal. She thought it was wrong for us to be together, with the age difference between us and all. I knew the only way she and I would be happy together would be to get away from the watchful eyes of everyone else."

"We were going to run away together." Ali smiled tearfully, her thoughts clearly somewhere else, "I was going to meet him that night I went missing, and we were going to run away."

"But Ezra's here, obviously you didn't run away." Aria protested, unwilling to believe that Ezra's heart belonged to anyone but her.

"Clearly," Ezra shot back bitterly.

"As I was walking from the barn to the place I was going to meet Ezra, who else should I have run into but the loser Toby Cavanaugh?" Ali's eyes bore into Spencer's skull as she spoke, showing her resent for Spencer's boyfriend, "He told me he had been watching me from a distance, and he knew my secret. Toby told me he loved me more than Ezra ever would, and not to run away with him."

Ezra stiffened, it was clear that he hadn't heard this part of the story. Spencer shook in the place where she stood next to Aria.

"I couldn't run away with Ezra, not if someone knew." Ali explained, "But I didn't want to ruin things between us. So I left. I picked up my things that I was originally going to bring to New York with Ezra, and took the next Greyhound bus to my house in Poconos. I knew my parents would be too distraught for vacation if I was missing, so that was my safe place."

"I didn't know where Alison went." Ezra broke in, "I thought you girls had something to do with it. I at least thought you would have known where she was. So I made myself close to you."

Aria's eyes darted between Ezra and Alison, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"How could you do this to me Ezra?" She cried, "I loved you! And all you ever wanted was Alison!"

"I would have done anything to find her." Ezra defended, "But I wasn't the only one who wanted to find her so badly. Toby found me, and asked me what I had done with her. I realized I could use him on my side; after all, he had the intelligence to find out about our relationship. Of course he'd be able to find Ali. We called ourselves the Alison team, A-team for short. We both wanted the same thing, Ali."

Aria noticed Ali flinch at these words. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Aria thought that Ali didn't want to be displayed as a prize to be found. It was very unlike Ail, for her to not want attention.

"Where is Toby now?" Spencer demanded to know, wanting to hear it from Toby himself.

"He's sulking," Ali scoffed, "We told him the jig is up. But don't worry, he'll be here soon. You can say your. . . _goodbyes_."

"You see the thing is," Ezra spoke with mock sympathy, "Toby wanted out. His relationship with you overrode his feelings for Alison. As happy as I was that I wouldn't have to fight him for my girl anymore, I needed him. He had two options, keep quiet and continue to help me search, or lose you forever, Spencer."

Chills went down Spencer's spine at the sound of Ezra's words. Toby did love her, she knew that. But the thought of Ezra threatening to kill her in order to keep Toby on his side brought to many questions to mind. What if Toby had chosen to run, what would have happened to her?

"Meanwhile, I was hiding under the name Vivian Darkbloom. Kudos to you, girls, for figuring that out. Otherwise Ezra never would have found me, and he would have been stuck pretending to love the wrong person forever." Ali glared at Aria at the word "wrong". Aria could tell that she was jealous of all the attention Aria had gotten from Ezra through all of this.

"So what now?" Spencer asked.

"Will you stay?" Emily clarified a hint of hope in her voice.

"You have two choices," Alison began, "You can run away, as far as you can. Don't tell your family, or the police. Leave it all behind."  
"Even Caleb?" Hanna whimpered. Spencer shot her a glance,

"What's our other option?" She asked, wary of Alison.

"Well I know you all want to stay in Rosewood. You have too much here to leave behind. But we can't have you running around knowing our little secret now, can we?" Ali reached towards Ezra's hand, causing Aria to inhale a sharp breath.

"But wait, this doesn't make sense." Aria cut off Alison, "In those pictures, Ali. . . you looked so afraid of Ezra. And Ezra was _stalking_ us."

"Oh no, Aria you have it all wrong." Ali smiled coyly.

"I wasn't stalking you girls." Ezra laughed, "I was in love with Alison. I thought she was beautiful, and felt the need to photograph her as much as I could. You girls were just always together."

"I knew about those pictures, silly Aria." Ali giggled, "And I only looked terrified in the pictures of me and Ezra because I was scared of what would happen if someone saw pictures of us together."

Aria looked defeated. Spencer gave her a comforting shoulder pat,

"I believe you have yet to tell me what our other option is." Spencer spoke sharply.

"You can join us." Ali smiled.

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this one took so long, I was on spring break and didn't feel like working on this. Anyways, there's only one chapter left in this fanfic! If I get either 5 reviews or 5 new follows on this story I'll update by Friday, otherwise I'll see you next Tuesday or Monday, whichever one I choose. Bye!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Join you as A?" Spencer practically shrieked, "Never."

Spencer looked around at her friends. Aria was staring blankly at Ezra, showing no sign of emotion whatsoever. Emily was fidgeting uncomfortably; Spencer knew she still loved Ali. Then there was Hanna, who had a gleam in her eye that Spencer had never seen before. It looked like she was angry, but Spencer wasn't sure.

"Silly Spencer," Ali smirked, "Always thought you could stand up to me. But you're wrong. I _own_ you, even now more than ever."

"You don't control anything about us." Spencer defended.

"Oh, but I do." Ali said, without a hint of fear in her voice, "You see, I've controlled everything about your lives since my. . . leave of absence. I know everything about all of you, and all it takes is one reminder of what I know about you for you to cower in fear."

"Ali, why are you doing this to us?" Emily pleaded.

"Because I can." Ali practically spat, "But isn't this what you always wanted, Em? To run away with me to somewhere secluded and never be found?"

"You're sick in the head." Hanna mumbled.

"What was that now?" Ali spoke with a mocking tone, "Does Hanna think that she has power over me now that she's Rosewood's it girl? Let's not forget who helped you get there. Without me, you would be nothing but lonely, ugly, Hefty Hanna."

"Ali, what's wrong with you?" Aria whispered, her body trembling as she looked at Ezra with disbelief.

Another figure appeared in the doorway, and Spencer drew back quickly.

"Toby," She gasped.

"Spencer!" Toby cried out and ran to Spencer. She stiffened as he threw his arms around her. Toby pulled back, remorse in his eyes.

"Toby," Spencer's voice wavered, "Why would you do this to me?"

"Spencer, listen to me, please." Toby pleaded, "I never wanted to hurt you. As soon as I realized I loved you I wanted out. But they told me I had to stay with them or they would kill you. I love you Spencer, that hasn't changed."

Ali let out a fake, dramatic sigh.

"Oh Toby, you silly, silly boy," She laughed, "You think you love Spencer. But tell me this, what makes her better than me? What does she have that I don't?"  
"A heart." Toby shot back at her, turning to face Ali, "It's time for you to go, Alison. You've done enough damage, leave them alone now."  
"Oh you wish it were that easy." Ali said with a twisted smile, "But that would mean letting you win, and we don't want to do that." She reached for Ezra's hand and scanned over the girls' faces, "So what will it be, ladies? I trust you will make the right decision."

"Ezra," Aria pleaded, looking at Ezra's face for some form of regret that showed he still cared about, "Please, you don't have to do this. We can still be together. Are you really going to give all of that up?"

"I feel nothing for you." Ezra said, his expression as solid as stone. Aria stared at him, to stunned to even cry.

"Hurry up," Ali smiled, "Your time is running out."  
"Is that a threat?" Toby questioned.

"No," Ali laughed, "It's a promise."

"You think you're the ones in control here." Toby stated, "But you aren't. I am."

"What do you me-?" Ali was cut off by the sound of rushing footsteps.

A team of police officers ran into the room.

"Alison DiLaurentis, Ezra Fitz," One of them spoke with a firm tone, "You're under arrest for stalking. You have the right to remain silent. Put your hands above your head and come with me."

"What?" Spencer cried out in confusion. Toby turned around and cupped his hands around Spencer's face.

"I called them before I came here. This had to end." Toby leaned down and kissed Spencer gently. She began to sob with relief, and collapsed into his arms.

"Goodbye, Alison." Hanna spat bitterly, as she watched Ali get handcuffed and exit the room. Emily stood stiffly, with mixed feelings of sorrow and relief.

Toby held Spencer close to him and whispered into her ear.

"Shhh, it's okay Spencer. It's over, it's all over. You're going to be okay now."

Aria watched Ezra be pushed out of the room by a separate officer. A new feeling began to take over her. She wasn't sure what the feeling was, but one thing was for sure. It wasn't over. Nothing was over until she had Ezra back in her grasp. It wasn't over until she said it was.

And Aria was not ready for it to be over.

**A/N: Hey guys! Well, this is it, this is the last chapter of A Uninvited. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through my first ever fanfic, and for being patient waiting for this final chapter. I left room for a sequel, in case I feel like picking back up on this story, so stay tuned in case I decided to write it! Until then, I have another Ezria fanfic in progress that will be a lot longer than this one. I really hope you enjoyed this story. Kisses! -A**


	11. Sequel is ON

Hey guys! I decided to make a sequel to this fic since it was such a success. It's called "_Turn Our Eyes Away_" and the first chapter is up on my profile. If you are not sure if you want to read it or not, here's a little preview.

_"Whispers echoed throughout the hallway of Rosewood High as Aria Montgomery walked to her first class. Some people stepped aside as she passed, as if Aria was Moses and the students made up the Red Sea. Not a single kind glance was given to her. Aria scanned the many faces that looked disapprovingly upon her, searching for the faces of her three best friends. But she knew that they weren't there. All of them were probably already in English class. No one knew that Aria was returning to school today."_

I hope you guys like this story as much as you liked_ "A Uninvited"_. Thanks for being supportive and enjoying my work.


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